NXT Halloween Havoc 2026 had potential, but fell far short of reaching it. The matches were what they were and clocked in mostly at below average.
The worst part of the show was the Halloween nonsense and it was stocked with it. I get doing it. It’s Halloween Havoc — but it has to be worked in better than what we saw. Naraku and Shiloh Hill battling in a fake haunted house, the women’s division being scared in their locker room, and Tristan Angels trying to lead a group of women through a different haunted house? Just obnoxious stuff that brought down an overall show that was looking for anything to bring it up.
Here are my Brass Ring Ratings for the event and here’s how they work … I call it like I see it and grade accordingly. One brass ring = bad. Five brass rings = epic, all-time greatness, and perfection.
Myles Borne vs. Tavion Heights - Weapons Wild Match
The match of the night and a better match than I expected. With this being Halloween Havoc and the match being “weapons wild,” this thing had annoying holiday street fight written all over it. Thankfully, it wasn’t that. It certainly was a watered down street fight, but the weapons used weren’t comedy bits and were presented as tools that could reasonably cause injury. Tables, chairs, garbage cans — this had all of that and the audience was interested throughout. Not on the edge of their seats, but interested. A little surprising to see Borne get a clean win, but I’ll always give a thumbs up to real finishes.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OOO
Zaria vs. Izzi Dame
Yikes. Not good. The story of this match is beyond ridiculous. Why is Zaria afraid of the fact that she acted in plays as a child? Why is that so triggering for her? The great thing about pro wrestling is that a good match can save a nonsense storyline. This leaned into it. I guess we’re supposed to believe that Dame had actors dress up as former parts Zaria has played over the years? In high school plays????? The actors stood around the arena and distracted Zaria from getting a win. Yeah, it was as bad as it sounds.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O 1/4
Zilla Fatu vs. Charlie Dempsey - Very Nice, Very Evil Match
All Zilla. Fatu kicked Charlie Dempsey’s ass, but also the ass of the entire Birthright faction. Very satisfying. Fatu looked crisp throughout this match and has — by far — the most star power and charisma of anyone in the men’s division on NXT. Not special from an in-ring perspective, but strong for simply getting a top guy over.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Kelani Jordan vs. Wren Sinclair - NXT Women’s Championship
It took a while to get rolling, but once it did the action hooked the crowd. There were some loud chants for Wren Sinclair during this, so the investment was there. Sinclair locked in her “cattle mutilation” submission a lot. Double edged sword. She applies the move really well and the audience reacted to it, but because it didn’t net a win, the aura around it seemed to shrink throughout the match. Looking at you, Kelani Jordan. She’s got to be sharper with the sell if the entire match is going to be booked around the move. The finish was weak. Jordan retaining wasn’t a surprise, but she created leverage with her foot on the ropes. The thing is, Jordan was late getting it there and had it in place for less than half a second.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/2
Shiloh Hill vs. Naraku
The best thing I can say about this match was that it certainly followed the story of the feud. Unfortunately, the story of the feud was built around different kinds of mists. Green mist, orange mist … bad. So, the match had a lot of mist and the initial mist blast sent both guys into an odd Halloween twilight zone where they beat up monsters. Yep, you’re exactly right. None of this made a lick of sense, was a shining example of what bad NXT looks like, and hurt both Hill and Naraku. They looked ridiculous.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - O
Grayson Waller vs. Tony D’Angelo - NXT Championship
Just … average. Not great, but not awful? Grayson Waller is a strong champion from the perspective of presenting as a star. He works hard for a negative reaction too. The in-ring is lagging behind the character work. He doesn’t have the offense or the pace that’s worthy of a top tier main event match on the main roster. Plenty of time, but this was a moment for him to show elevation and he didn’t. Same thing with D’Angelo. The announce team worked hard to tell a story of intense hatred between Waller and D’Angelo, but D’Angelo didn’t really do his part for it. He’s got to convey that exact story with his body language and he didn’t. Waller retained by illegally using a crowbar — a heel doing heel things. Waller is now set for the biggest match of his career against CM Punk on Wednesday night as NXT goes head to head with AEW Dynamite.
Heydorn’s Brass Ring Rating - OO 1/4
And the match of the night at NXT Halloween Havoc 2026 was? Let us know in the comments!
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